Fighting erupts in northern Unity State as Rubkona commissioner’s convoy attacked

JUBA – Fierce fighting erupted in northern Unity State on Saturday after a convoy carrying Rubkona County commissioner James Kasara Clement Juol was attacked by armed assailants dressed in military and police uniforms.

Clement speaking to Sudans Post following the outbreak of fighting said he had left Rubkona town for Parieng County early on Saturday morning to retrieve cattle stolen in a raid last week by armed youth from the neighboring Ruweng Administrative Area (RAA).

“Last week, armed youth from Ruweng Administrative Area attacked a cattle camp belonging to the Leek Community in Payangai. Many cattle were stolen, and many people were wounded in that incident,” Clement explained.

“After several days of talks with the commissioner of Parieng County, they agreed to return the cattle, and I went there this morning to be handed over the cattle by the commissioner,” the commissioner added.

However, upon arrival in Panakuach at approximately 4:45 p.m. local time, Clement said it was the executive director, not the county commissioner of Parieng County, who came to handover the stolen cattle.

“After I received the cattle and was preparing to leave, my convoy was attacked,” he recounted. “The assailants were dressed in SSPDF and police uniforms, and it is at this point that the fighting began.”

Clement stated that his bodyguards were outnumbered by the attackers, before a reinforcing force came from the south of the incident location.

“The bodyguards who were with me cannot fight a force numbered in the hundreds,” he said. “So, after a few minutes of fighting, a reinforcement came from the military in Unity State stationed near Panakuach, and then the fighting intensified. However, they were eventually able to dislodge the attackers.”

According to Clement, a group of local youth from Payangai subsequently set off in the direction of Panakuach. He himself returned to Payangai, where the cows were originally stolen. Clement said their forces were unable to stop the youth from pursuing the attackers.

Efforts to reach authorities in Parieng were unsuccessful as phone calls rang unanswered.

This incident highlights the escalating tensions between armed actors in Unity State. South Sudan has a long history of cattle raids and intercommunal violence.

Last week, heavily armed youth believed to have come from Ruweng Administrative Area attacked Payangai and went away with a good number of cattle. Five people including three women, one child and a man were wounded in the incident.

The victims being treated at Bentiu State Hospital told Sudans Post that the attackers came in pickup Toyota vehicles and one SSPDF truck.